ALL NOVEL Chapter 37 - Getting A Promotion?(1)
Chapter 37: Getting A Promotion?(1)
Translator: Sissy That Walk
The 23rd of the seventh month in lunar calendar, I finally entered Sheng City. Unexpectedly, Qi Sheng maintained my pride and personally went to the Palace gate to welcome me.
I had an uneasy feeling, thinking that he would send the Greek gifts for me, which meant he wouldn’t be nice me.
Qi Sheng looked me up and down for a while. Then he said lightly, “Go back to the Palace to rest first. After a few days, there will be the ceremony for conferring the Empress, which would tire you so much.”
Although Qi Sheng had promised that he would make me the Empress, when such words really came out of his mouth, I was a little incredulous. The feeling was like when you had just offended your boss and you were ready to get packed, your boss suddenly told you that he would give you a raise or promotion.
Do you believe it? Could you dare believe it?
Anyway, I dare not believe, even if I wanted to believe, I would first slap my own face, for at least slapped me to awake!
Because I was not conferred yet, I still resided in the Eastern Palace, where Lv Li was waiting for me and cried hard when she saw me.
I was in no mood to comfort her, I just asked, “Are you all right?”
Lv Li rubbed her eyes and nodded.
I quickly replied, “Then rest yourself in somewhere else. I’ll stay by myself and think about something.”
Lv Li, hearing what I said, walked out and turned her head back in every three steps.
I closed the door and began to think about what Qi Sheng was going to do. Did he really want to keep his promise, or just to appease the Family Zhang holding military power?
The second day, one from the Family Zhang came to see me, until then did I have a general understanding of the Fuping incident.
On the 17th day of the sixth month in lunar calendar, the old Emperor died suddenly at his Palace. According to the official news, he suffered from a stroke caused by the heat. In fact, it was caused by the beauties offered by the foreign countries whose sexual power was too much for him. When the old Emperor threw himself totally into it, he made a heroic “sacrifice” on the battlefield of beauty.
Lin shi, the Empress dowager, played her cards well, before Her Majesty the Empress had any reaction, she blocked the Palace in time and only sent the message to Qi Sheng who was then still in the ship on Wan River.
After receiving the news, Qi Sheng immediately commanded Fuping navy to detain Chu wang, and rushed back to the Palace to preside over the big picture. After discussing with the Empress Dowager Lin shi, they decided not to release the obituary. Instead, they lied to the public that there was turmoil in Yun Xi and then ordered the imperial army to escort the Emperor and concubines back to Sheng City. At the same time, he quickly dispatched 50 thousands soldiers from the Jiangbei Central Army Camp to guard the capital city and its environs.
Bathroom Lord, trapped in his ship, could do nothing but to watch what happened.
Even if Zhao wang was in Sheng city, he was not well-informed, so when he knew it, Qi Sheng’s army was already in place, fail to resist.
Therefore, with the support of the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince Qi Sheng, backed by Fuping navy and Jiangbei Central Army Camp, finally managed to ascend the throne of the Emperor.
The Empress and the Empress Dowager were ascended to Empress Dowager and the grandma-Empress Dowager naturally. Now, I was the only one who left in the same position, waiting to be promoted the Empress.
The visitor, Zhang Xuan, one of the cousins from Family Zhang, briefly explained the cause and effect of the thing, and told me the big picture of Sheng City at the moment. He said, “The foundation of the new Emperor’s establishment is not yet firm, and they still need Family Zhang in many aspects. There’s nothing to worry about and just wait for the conferring ceremony. The imperial edict of conferring you to the Empress is just a matter of time.”
I felt reassured and nodded softly.
Zhang Xuan paused and glanced cautiously at me. He whispered to me, “Grandma asked me to tell you that since you are going to be the Empress, you have to learn to be tolerant. Whoever is favored by the Emperor does not matter. The most important thing at present is to give birth to his first child as soon as possible. Only then will the status of Family Zhang really become stable.”
I understood this very well, even for the Empress’ family had to keep low-key, only when I became the Empress Dowager, could Family Zhang straighten their back and reassure themselves.
Zhang Xuan saw me slowly nodded, hesitated for a moment, and whispered: “There is a thing you should be informed.”
I saw him stammering, looking at him in surprise, and asking, “What is it?”
Zhang Xuan looked at me cautiously, and said: “A few days ago, Zhao consort, Jiang shi died of sudden illness, sister-in-law had been personally checked it, however the corpse was not hers.”
I was suddenly stunned, Jiang shi just had a fracture in two places, and how could she die of sudden illness? Since the body was not hers, had it been switched? And she played dead? My mind flashed back to the conversation between Qi Sheng and Jiang shi in the woods by Taiye pond on the night of the Lantern Festival.
Jiang shi said she wanted her husband only married her. Qi Sheng asked her to give him more time.His words sent a chill on my back, what the fxxk, Qi Sheng just ascended the throne and he couldn’t wait any longer? If it were true, I couldn’t stay in the position as the Empress for long time?
Zhang Xuan tried to comfort me: “Grandmother said, there was no need for you to do anything, it’s enough that you are informed of the information. As long as the position is yours, she couldn’t go beyond you no matter how the Emperor favors her.”
Jesus! How could he know this was not a matter of favor her or not. Instead, I wished Qi Sheng had favored only Jiang shi, the only one in his life. What I really worried about was if Jiang shi wished Qi Sheng to marry only her, and then he had a hot head on dissolution of the harem!
With this matter occupying my mind, I didn’t pay much attention to the ceremony for the conferring. Several days later, an unexpected guest showed up.
Bathroom Lord was thinner than in Fuping, but his shape was straighter. He wore a light blue gown, which at first glance made him look like a robust bamboo in the wind.
He sent official regards to me, and then turned a blind eye to my surprise look. He said in a neither servile nor overbearing attitude: “The Emperor ordered me to organize the ceremony, so I come today to ask what commands do you have for me”
I did not say a word for a long time, and then ordered Lv Li to stand by outside the Palace with all maids.
“Your Highness should avoid arousing suspicion.” He said with a slight smile.
Avoided the fxxking suspicion! If Qi Sheng wanted me to avoid arousing suspicion, he would not arrange Bathroom Lord to host the thing of conferring the Empress.
I went to him and stood in front of him. “Was he going to kill you and Zhao wang?” I asked.
He raised his head, smiled sarcastically and replied, “My life will be retained because my mother held the imperial edict written by the old Emperor, which forbid him to kill his brothers.”
Although his life was saved, what kind of life he could live in was not at his will.
I didn’t know why I felt a little sad. I reached out my hand and patted him on the shoulder, “Take it easy. To live is much better than to die.”
He opened his lips slightly and looked at me in surprise.
I withdrew my hand lamely, went back to my seat, and said with a sigh, “What his purpose on asking you to do the host? Does he want to find fault with you or me?”
He thought about it for a while and replied,” I guess he just wanted to embarrass me.”
I was a little confused, pondering on how it could give him embarrassment.
He laughed softly and said, “If you don’t understand, don’t think about it. Let me ask you, do you still hate him for putting you in a dangerous situation?”
He changed the topics so fast that it was hard for me to follow. I answered him half-beat slower: “What does it matter to hate him or not? I have to depend on him. What’s more, how could I hate him so much? He didn’t owe me anything. There was no reason for him to put me in his heart. In hindsight, I thought it was a good thing. He didn’t manage to sabotage me last time, and he would have to think twice before he planned to sabotage me again.”
Surprised, Bathroom Lord looked at me for a moment. Then he said, “You don’t seem to have been raised by human traffickers. They had no such grand sense to bring up a woman of your mind.”
His praise made me embarrassed, so I gave a wave to him, smiling: “Not to mention it, I just had no way to resist, so I can only rise to the occasion. I will adapt myself to whatever situations”
What else could I do?
He calculated Qi Sheng by using me, in the purpose to force Qi Sheng to make mistakes. However the result was Qi Sheng saw through it and also used me to lead him on the hook. Calculating each other round by round, the two brothers never thought of being calculated by Zhao wang, who stayed in Sheng City, far away from them.
For such a fight, no one could escape unscathed when close to the people involved into it. Was I annoyed? Of course I was, it was like someone hit me on the left face, and did I want to pay him back? Only the fool would not revenge, however, when I did not have enough power to fight back, I’d better conserve my own forces to protect the right face rather than being slapped again.
Take it easy and I would feel much better.
We sat face to face, without a word. He was in silence for a while. Then he got up and left.
Lv Li came in from outside with an anxious expression, and complained to me in a low voice: “Your Highness really got muddled. At this crucial time, you should try to avoid arousing suspicion, how could you stay with him alone? If this was heard by the Emperor, you won’t be able to prove yourself innocent.”
I pretended not to hear that, got up and moved to the inner hall, lying on the bed and asked Lv Li to massage my back.
Though kept busy in her hands, she still had energy to whisper quietly: “Your Highness, you shouldn’t always behave like this. There are so many people looking at you, but you stay in the Palace for all day. You didn’t know that outside our Palace, in order to get promoted, other concubines, all dressing up like the doxies, tried to get close to the Emperor in every possible way.”
I couldn’t help sighing. How poor these concubines were! They were so young like fresh flowers yet without man’s love to blossom them. Qi Sheng had done such a terrible job. I knew he loved Jiang shi, but occasionally he had to water other flowers and loosen the soil below.
Listening to my sigh, Lv Li must have gotten me wrong, and then said in a resentful emotion: “Your Highness should take out some means to give those doxies a lesson!”
Come on! I had no time for this.
I quickly stopped Lv Li to continue saying, and earnestly advised her: “Lv Li, although it is fun to play mind games with them, could we focus on the bigger picture here? Dressing up like doxies is a good thing which pleases the eyes. Have you never heard of that one single flower could not make a spring but bundles of flowers could?”